Fish hook sharpener



Nov. 22, 1955 L. E. SHAW FISH HOOK SHARPENER Filed April 8, 1955 R 0 may m. 2 E m a 2m United States Patent FISH HOOK SHARPENER Loren E. Shaw, Livingston, Calif.

Application April 8, 1955, SerialNo. 500,172.

9 Claims; (Cl. 51-204):

This invention relates generally to a fishermans' accessory; the invention being directed particularly to, and it is a major object to provide, av fishhook sharpener of novel structure and function.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a fishhook sharpener which is a. relatively small, hand-manipulated device by meansof which the point of a fishhook can be readily and quickly sharpened through the medium of a grinding compound paste in a tapered bore into which such point is inserted.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a fishhook sharpener, as above, which contains a quantity of such grinding compound paste in a chamber separate from the fishhook point receiving bore; there being means for feeding such grinding compound paste from such chamber into said bore.

A further object of the invention is to provide a fishhook sharpener which is designed for ease and economy of manufacture, and one which can be readily carried in a fishermans tackle box.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a practical, reliable, and durable fishhook sharpener, and one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects are accomplished by means of such structure and relative arrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of the fishhook sharpener.

Fig. 2 is a transverse showing of the fishhook sharpener as in use.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional elevation of the devlce.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings and to the characters of reference marked thereon, the fishhook sharpener is bullet-shaped, comprising a cylindrical body 1 rounded at its front end, as at 2; the nose of such body being solid, as at 3, and having a smalldiameter, inwardly tapered, axial bore 4 formed therein. Such bore defines a central outer end opening 5, which is approximately in diameter; said bore tapering inwardly to approximately in diameter at its inner end.

At such inner end the tapered bore 4 defines a passage 6 which communicates with a greatly enlarged-diameter, tapped chamber forming bore 7 which initially opens to the rear end 8 of said body 1. A threaded plug 9 is adjustably screwed into bore 7, and said plug is formed, in its outer face, with a transverse, screw driver receiving slot 10.

The bore 7 is filled with a quantity of grinding compound paste 11, and upon rotation of the plug 9 by a screwdriver, in a direction to advance said plug, in said bore, a quantity of the grinding compound paste 11 is forced through the passage 6 into the tapered bore 4. Such feeding is enhanced by the fact that the forward end of the bore 7 is wide-angle tapered or funnel-like, as indicated at 12.

With a quantity of the grinding compound'paste 11 thus fed into the tapered bore 4, the fishhook sharpener is ready for use.

To sharpen the point 13 of a fishhook 14, the device is used in the manner shown in Fig. 2; the operation being conducted as follows:

The hook. 14 is grasped between the thumband index finger of one hand, while the body 1 is grasped between the thumb and index finger of the otherhand. The point 13 of hook 14 is then inserted into. the tapered bore 4 through the central outer end opening 5, and until the extreme tip 15 of such point bears against the wall of said bore 4 in the presence of the grinding compound paste 11.

The device is then rotated by rolling it between. the fingers of the hand, which causes. the tip 15 to be rubbed by the wall of the tapered bore 4; such rubbing-in the presence of the grinding. compound paste 11'-effectively sharpening said tip 15. If desired, the hook may be rocked during the sharpening operation so that all sides of the tip 15 will have bearing and sharpening contact with the wall of the bore 4 as the device is rotated.

It has been found that a number of fishhook points can be sharpened by the device before it becomes necessary to again feed a quantity of the grinding compound paste 11 from the bore 7 into the bore 4 by adjustment of the threaded plug 9.

With the described device, the tip 15 of a fishhook point 13 can be sharpened to a needle-like condition, which assures of proper penetration when a fish strikes the bait on such hook, thereby minimizing the chance of losing a hooked fish.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that there has been produced such a device as will substantially fulfill the objects of the invention, as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, the following is claimed as new and useful, and upon which Letters Patent are desired:

1. A fishhook sharpener comprising a body formed with a small-diameter bore opening to the outside, the bore being adapted to receive the point of a fishhook therein with the point tip bearing against the wall of said bore, there being a chamber in the body for a quantity of grinding compound, the chamber and bore being in communication, and means associated with the body arranged to feed the grinding compound from the chamber into said bore.

2. A fishhook sharpener, as in claim 1, in which said bore tapers inwardly from its outer end.

3. A fishhook sharpener, as in claim 1, in which the body is cylindrical with a semi-spherical nose at one end; the bore opening being disposed centrally of said nose.

4. A fishhook sharpener, as in claim 1, in which the body is elongated with a nose at one end, said nose progressively reducing in diameter toward its free end, and the bore opening being disposed centrally of said nose.

5. A fishhook sharpener comprising a body formed with a small-diameter bore opening to the outside, the bore being adapted to receive the point of a fishhook therein with the point tip bearing against the wall of said bore, there being a chamber in the body for a quantity of grinding compound, the chamber being in cornmunication with the bore at the inner end thereof, and means associated with the body arranged to feed the grinding compound from the chamber into said bore.

6. A fishhook sharpener comprising a body formed with a small-diameter bore opening to the outside, the bore being adapted to receive the point of a fishhook therein with the point tip bearing against the wall of said bore, there being a chamber in the body for a quantity of grinding compound, the chamber being in communication with the bore at the inner end thereof, and means associated with the body arranged to feed the grinding compound from the chamber into said bore; the chamber being defined by another bore initially open to the outside, and said means being a screw plug adjustably threaded into said other bore.

7. A fishhook sharpener comprising an elongated body formed with a small-diameter axial bore opening to one end of said body, the bore tapering inwardly and terminating at its inner end short of the other end of the body, said bore being adapted to receive the point of a fishhook therein with the point tip bearing the wall of such bore, another axial bore in the body, said other bore being in communication at one end with the inner end of the taper bore and initially open at the corresponding end to said other end of the body, said other bore providing a chamber for a quantity of grinding compound, and a plug adjustably threaded into such other bore.

8. A fishhook sharpener, as in claim 7, in which the body is cylindrical with a rounded nose at said one end of the body.

9. A fishhook sharpener comprising an elongated body having a pair of axial bores therein, said bores communicating at their inner ends and opening at their outer ends to corresponding ends of said body, one bore being of small diameter and tapering inwardly from the outer end, said one bore being adapted to receive the point of a fishhook therein with the point tip bearing against the wall of said bore, the other bore being of greater diameter than said one bore and forming a chamber for a quantity of grinding compound, and a plug adjustably threaded into said other bore from its outer end; said plug, when adjusted inwardly, causing the grinding compound to feed from said other bore into said one bore.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS, 

